Products sold directly to indivi­duals, without the involve­ment of an adviser, now con­stitute a signi­ficant and fast growing compo­nent within the life and health market. In order for them to be priced and distri­buted compe­titively, such pro­ducts typi­cally combine highly stream­lined or non-existent under­writing pro­cesses with simpli­fied product design and affor­dable pricing.

The traditional channel for such products used to be direct mail. The advent of telemarketing enabled companies to personalise their interaction with the customer whilst email delivered both personalised, relevant content at reduced cost. Direct response television (DRTV) advertising and online sales have now become the standard practice around the world. In Australia and the UK for example, insurance companies partner with affinity groups such as supermarkets or motor clubs – to sell their products to its members e.g. members of a loyalty card. White-labelling of products is common to make use of consumers’ brand loyalty and to expand the value delivered to members by the organisation.

Hannover Re identi­fied the growth poten­tial of direct marke­ting pro­ducts some time ago. We have since posi­tioned our­selves to partner effec­tively with life insurers ven­turing into this market and with distri­bution com­panies lacking spe­cific insu­rance experience.

In each case, our clients benefit from our exten­sive know­ledge and experi­ence with direct marke­ting insu­rance pro­ducts. The knowledge we have gained from our years of market participation and our sizeable inforce portfolios enable us to provide powerful support in terms of product and benefit design, risk pricing, underwriting and reflexive question sets, and claims management.

Our dedi­cated team of direct marke­ting insu­rance specia­lists has a proven ability to partner effec­tively both with life and health insu­rance provi­ders and with firms that have comple­mentary exper­tise and capabi­lities in areas such as adver­tising, online sales and call centre opera­tions.

We believe direct marke­ting products, and those sold online in parti­cular, will play an increa­singly signi­ficant role in the future.

This has led us to gain market-leading exper­tise in the design and management of robust and compe­titively priced under­writing-free or under­writing-light pro­ducts that offer our clients a valu­able addi­tional re­venue stream and a bene­ficial source of diversi­fication while providing consumers with direct access to insurance products.